In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The Janaaza Prayer 120509

Abu Umaamah has narrated that neither the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him), nor Abu Bakr, nor Umar specified a particular dua during the Janaaza Prayer. The scholars therefore have consensus that any dua is acceptable with the following conditions:

The dua is sincere as Abu Hurayrah narrates that the the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) said:

When you pray over the dead one, be sincere in your prayer for him[1]

Secondly the dua should be for the deceased as opposed to the general dua as the above mentioned hadith does state ‘in your prayer for him.’

Auf ibn Malik narrates that he prayed behind the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) who recited the following dua during the Janaaza Prayer:

O Allaah, forgive and have mercy upon him, excuse him and pardon him, and make honorable his reception. Expand his entry, and cleanse him with water, snow, and ice, and purify him of sin as a white robe is purified of filth. Exchange his home for a better home, and his family for a better family, and his spouse for a better spouse. Admit him into the Garden, protect him from the punishment of the grave and the torment of the Fire.

This dua is reported in Saheeh Muslim and is the only dua for Janaaza Prayer that can be found in As-Saheehayn. When Auf ibn Malik heard this profound dua he said he wished that he was the deceased.

Abu Hurayrah also narrates in the Sunan of Abu Dawud that he heard the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) recite:

O Allaah, forgive our living and our dead, those present and those absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allaah, whom amongst us You keep alive, then let such a life be upon Islaam, and whom amongst us You take unto Yourself, then let such a death be upon faith. O Allaah, do not deprive us of his reward and do not let us stray after him.

Waathil ibn Asqa also narrates that he heard the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) recite during the Janaaza Prayer:

O Allaah, so-and-so is under Your care and protection so protect him from the trial of the grave and torment of the Fire. Indeed You are faithful and truthful. Forgive and have mercy upon him, surely You are The Oft-Forgiving, The Most-Merciful

Clearly it is preffered to make the dua recited by the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him). However it is permissible to add to these dua or to combine them. There is a consensus of the scholars that the hands should not be raised while making these dua. The vast majority of the scholars hold the view that the duas should not be recited loudly. Of course the narrations of the Companions indicate the the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) was reciting these dua loudly, however this may have been for the purpose of teaching only.

It is a good practise to mention the name of the deceased in the dua. The dua reported by Waathil ibn Asqa starts off by mentioning ‘so and so the son of so and so’, which indicates that the name of the deceased should be mentined here. If the name is not known it is sufficient to intend the deceased. If possible you can specify the gender of the deceased in your dua by using the masculine or femanine adjective. One of the scholars Saleh al-Bulayhi, who used to teach in the Sacred Mosque of Makkah after the Fajr Prayer, used to make tawaaf around the Ka’bah after his lesson. At this time sisters would gather around him and he would answer their questions. On one particular day a Janaaza arrived so the Sheikh began discusing rulings related to the Janaaza prayer. He mentioned that the masculine or feminine adjective can be used during dua either entending the deceased itself, or the Janaaza itself, as the word Janaaza can accommodate a masculine or femanine preposition. He then raised the question of specifying the female gender in the dua narrated by Auf ibn Malik which contains the statement ‘and (replace) his spouse for a better spouse’. We know that in Paradise a Muslim woman will be the spouse of her husband in the life of this world. It is out of the question that a Muslim woman would have a particular husband in the life of this world and then be married to a different man in the Hereafter. The exception is if the woman maried more than once due to the death of her husband, in which case she will be married in the Hereafter to her last husband in this world. The Sheikh went on to explain ‘and (replace) his spouse for a better spouse’ to mean:

• The rank of the husband will be ellavated to the rank of the wive in the Hereafter, hence he will be a better husband.
• Instead of intending the female deceased in this dua, you can intend the Janaaza in general (as the arabic word ‘Janaaza’ can accept a male or female adjective) in which case ‘and (replace) his spouse for a better spouse’ becomes a generic statement for the Janaaza and not specific to a particular woman.

As discussed in the previous lesson, after the first takbeer, Surah al-Faatiha is read, after the second, Salah is made on the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him), after the third, dua is made for the deceased, and after the fourth it is reported that the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) made tasleem immediately. However it is reported from some of the Taabieen that it is permissible to make general dua after the fourth takbeer.

The question arises that what if the deceased is a premature baby or child who died before puberty. In this case the child would not have incurred any sin, so is it appropriate to make dua for forgiveness for the child? Some scholars state that dua is to be made as for any Janaaza and their any many interpratations of the consequence of this. Some scholars explain that Allah would raise the rank of the child in the Hereafter, increase their reward or reward the parents. When Abu Hurayrah or Abu Umaamah and other Companions would pray Janaaza prayer over deceased child they would add, ‘O ‘Allah make them a Farat..’. The word ‘Farat’ in this context means the child would proceed their parents into Paradise and be a cause for their parents to enter Paradise.

Scholars also add that when a child dies dua should be made for the parents during the Janaaza prayer.

The Hanbali and Shafiee school of thought consider the Tasleem on the right side to be a pillar. Other scholars also consider a tasleem should be made on the left side just like the daily prayer. In Al-Bayhaqi there is a narration that Abdullah ibn Masood said ‘Three qualities people have abandoned’ , one of them he said was ‘making tasleem in Janaaza prayer like the tasleem in normal prayer.’ Some scholars disagree about the authenticity of this statement while other like Sheikh Al-Albaany consider it to be authentic. Scholars further discuss that Ibn Masood may not have meant two tasleem as such, and may simply have meant the practise of making tasleem in the first place. Imam Ahmed said ‘I don’t know of any compnaion who ofered 2 tasleem’, and he cited Companions such as Abu Hurayrah and Ibn Abbas who only made one tasleem

It is the sunnah to divide the congregation into three rows. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) said:

If there are three rows in the Janaaza Prayer of a Muslim then Allah makes paradise compulsory for that Muslim[2].

The minimum number of people required in each row is 2. The bigger the congregation the better for the deceased.

Ayesha narrated that the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) said:

If as many as a hundred Muslims join in the Janaaza prayer for a person, and all of them pray to Allah for his salvation, their recommendation would be granted[3].

Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) said:

If a Muslim dies and forty people; who do not associate anthing with Allah, join in the Janaaza prayer for him, Allah accepts their prayers for him.[4]

One of Ibn Abaas’ sons died so while organising the Janaaza prayer he sent his servant Qurayb to observe if 40 people had gathered for the Janaaza. Once 40 people gathered he commenced the Janaaza Prayer.

The hadith narrated by Samrah ibn Jundun describes the Prophet (Peace and Salutations be upon him) offering Janaaza prayer on a woman while standing towards her middle. Anas ibn Malik once prayed on a male Janaaza and prayed at the head then he prayed on a female Janaaza and prayed at the middle. One of his students asked him regarding this and he said this is the sunnah.

The Hanbali school have a strange opinion that for a male Janaaza the Imam should stand at the chest.